Procedure Objective

Procedure 2-74 provides instructions for coordinating the destruction of records that have met retention through the services of Property Management. This procedure supports the management of UT Arlington records and information in accordance with UT System policy UTS115, Records and Information Management and Retention Policy and Research(HOP 5-700).

Rationale

The University of Texas at Arlington has created this procedure to ensure that all university departments and employees are aware of the proper instructions for preparing records to be shredded via the vendor contracted by Property Management.

Scope

All UT Arlington departments who dispose of university records and information through the shredding vendor contracted by Property Management.

Definitions

Confidential Records: Records to which public access is denied under the Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, or other state or federal law: some examples are student records, personnel files, some litigation records, records that contain trade secrets, records that relate to bid competition, and memos that would not be available to anyone in litigation with the University.

Departmental Records Management Contacts (RMCs):University employees designated to work with the University's records management administrator (RMA) to collect or distribute records management information and help maintain the University's records management program within their departments.

Duplicate/Reference Copy: A duplicate copy of the official record copy of an official University record. The duplicate may be disposed of appropriately before or at the time retention requirements are met for the official record copy.

Electronic Records: Records stored in a format that only a computer can process or retrieve.

Final Disposition: Final processing of state records by either appropriate destruction or archival preservation in accordance with Government Code, Chapter 441, Subchapter L.

Official University Record: This term applies to any written, photographic, machine-readable, including email, or other recorded information created or received by or on behalf of the University that documents activities in the conduct of business or use of public resources. The term excludes:

Library or museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes

Extra copies preserved only for reference

Stocks of publications or blank forms

Correspondence, notes, memoranda, or other documents not containing a final written agreement associated with a matter conducted under an alternative dispute resolution procedure in which university personnel participated as a party, facilitated as an impartial third party, or facilitated as the administrator or a dispute resolution system or organization.

Records Management: Texas Government Code 441.180, Definitions(7) defines records management as the application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and destruction of records for the purposes of improving the efficiency of recordkeeping, ensuring access to public information and reducing costs. The term includes:

Development of records retention schedules

Management of filing and information retrieval systems in any media

Adequate protection of records that are vital, archival, or confidential according to accepted archival and records management practices

Economical and space-effective storage of inactive records

Control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports, and correspondence

Maintenance of public information in a manner to facilitate access by the PIO

Records Management Administrator (RMA): An employee appointed by the records management officer to assist in the daily administration of the UT Arlington records management program.

Records Management Officer (RMO): The records management officer administers the records management program established in each state agency under Section 441.183, Texas Government Code. The president appoints the RMO and reports the appointment to the Texas State Library. The RMO for UT Arlington is the Vice President for Business Affairs and Controller.

Records Retention Schedule: The records retention schedule provides a list of official records for each department and prescribes their periods of authorized retention and other data necessary for the records management program. The schedule is periodically updated to reflect the addition or deletion of records series and changes in retention needs and/or requirements.

Tangible Medium: Paper, microfilm, flash drive, DVD, CD, etc. that can be read without electronic hardware or software, or that can be removed and carried from one electronic device to another.

Responsibilities

Dispose of records that have met retention requirements through Property Management using appropriate methods and records disposition instructions in Records and Information Management (Procedure 13-5).

Property Management

Contracts with a shredding vendor to provide shredding services for University departments that want to have their records destroyed.

Secures university records awaiting destruction.

Notes when records are destroyed and forwards a certificate of destruction to the RMA when records are destroyed.

RIM Staff in Administrative Information Management

Procedures

Section I. Determining When to Dispose of Records Through Property Management

The chosen method of destruction should be based on the security level of the records (confidential, restricted, public), space available for storage, staging, and destruction, and costs associated with available options. The shredding services offered by Property Management should be considered when a department needs to destroy a large amount of records stored on tangible media, especially those that contain confidential and/or restricted information.

If the records contain any confidential or restricted information the records (including transitory, official record copies and duplicates) must be secured and destroyed by shredding. Some examples of confidential records are student records, personnel files and trade secrets. Records containing both confidential and public information should be considered confidential.

Confidential or restricted information must be stored in a secured area until they are transported to Property Management for destruction.

Note: Records maintained electronically and that contain confidential information require the same careful handling. Electronic media may not be disposed of in unsecured trash receptacles unless they only contain public information. All electronic media (hard disk drive, floppy disk, or magnetic tape) must be erased prior to transfer to University Surplus to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of protected and/or confidential information. Computers and hard drives no longer in use are routed to Property Management where the hard drives are again erased by Department of Defense Standards to eliminate the possibility of releasing UT Arlington computers with confidential information. See Section III. of this procedure for more information.

Section II. Property Management's Shredding Service

When shredding services are coordinated through Property Management, complete a Document Destruction Request Form (Form 2-50). For current pricing of Property Management shredding services, please contact the department at 817-272-2191 or property_management@uta.edu.

Prior to pick up, the department should complete the Records Disposition Log (Form 13-6). Property Management staff will enter the disposition date and initial the form when the records are disposed. For more information on how to complete the Records Disposition Log see Records and Information Management (Procedure 13-5).

To request pick up for shredding, the requesting department will complete the top portion of the Document Destruction Request Form (Form 2-50). When completing the form, the requesting department will need to specify a department contact, the building that houses the records, and the department's account number for billing. Once the requesting department has completed the top portion of the destruction request form, the form should be e-mailed to property_management@uta.edu, or faxed to 817-272-2199. The Property Management department will contact the requesting department to schedule a pick up time.

If the boxes contain records that have confidential or restricted information, the boxes should be held in a secured area until they are picked up by Property Management or taken directly to Property Management.

All boxes that will be picked up by Property Management must be sealed and secured. Property Management will not pick up unsealed boxes. It is recommended that the requesting department use standard record storage boxes. A standard record storage box measures about 1.2 cubic feet and can accompany legal and letter-size materials. Records stored in bags will not be accepted.

When packing the box, it is recommended that you remove paper clips, metal clips, binders, and bindings. This will save you office supplies, will save space in the box, and will speed processing when the box is due for destruction.

Marking boxes with the sending department's name, the date sent, and either a description of box contents or numbering the boxes 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, etc. can help track the records and ensure that they reach their destination.

At pick up, the requesting department will present a completed Records Disposition Log (Form 13-6) to accompany the boxes to the Receiving Warehouse. A department representative will sign the destruction request form at pick up to release the records to the Property Management department.

After pick up, the boxes will remain securely stored in the Receiving Warehouse while waiting to be destroyed. As of September 1, 2009, Property Management's shredding vendor will destroy the records off-campus.

When the records have been destroyed, Property Management staff will note when the records were destroyed and forward the disposition log to the RMA.

A certificate of destruction will be produced by the vendor and forwarded to Property Management, who will then forward the certificate to the RMA.

Note: University departments may coordinate the destruction of records through a shredding vendor of their choosing by having a department representative contact the vendor directly.

Although the shredding services vendor will destroy the records, the department's RMC will still complete the Records Disposition Log.

The vendor should produce a certificate of destruction to the departmental records contact.

The department will then send the certificate of destruction and disposition log to the RMA and, if desired, retain a copy in the department.

All tangible media (videos, audio tapes, computer disks, and microfilm) may be shredded through Property Management. For more information about the general procedures regarding the disposal and destruction of electronic records, see Records and Information Management (Procedure 13-5).

As with paper records, a department's RMC should complete the Records Disposition Log (Form 13-6) when disposing of official records copies of electronic records through Property Management.

Like paper records, the same procedures apply to the retrieval and destruction of electronic records when coordinating shredding services through Property Management. Likewise, the process must ensure the protection of any confidential and/or restricted information.

All electronic media (hard disk drive, floppy disk, or magnetic tape) must be erased prior to transfer to University Surplus to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of protected and/or confidential information. Documentation of the destruction of official record copies of official records is forwarded to the RMA either in interoffice mail or by email to rim@uta.edu.

Department managers should ensure that all information stored on computers transferred to Property Management has been inventoried and disposed of, saved, protected if confidential, or distributed as needed prior to transfer of the computer.

A department may transfer their computers (and the hard drive) to Property Management by completing the Inventory Transaction Form (Form 2-45). After completing the form, scan or fax the forms to fax number 817-272-2199 or property_management@uta.edu.

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